Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 79 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 834 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Amgen in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Amgen in the third quarter valued at $56,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $273.44 on Thursday. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $253.30 and a twelve month high of $346.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $271.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $306.43. The firm has a market cap of $146.98 billion, a PE ratio of 35.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.56.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.96 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AMGN. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $256.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Amgen from $360.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Amgen from $335.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Amgen from $335.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Leerink Partners cut their target price on Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.91.

Amgen Profile

Amgen Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers human therapeutics worldwide. The company's principal products include Enbrel to treat plaque psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis; Otezla for the treatment of adult patients with plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and oral ulcers associated with Behçet's disease; Prolia to treat postmenopausal women with osteoporosis; XGEVA for skeletal-related events prevention; Repatha, which reduces the risks of myocardial infarction, stroke, and coronary revascularization; Nplate for the treatment of patients with immune thrombocytopenia; KYPROLIS to treat patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma; Aranesp to treat a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells and anemia; EVENITY for the treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal for men and women; Vectibix to treat patients with wild-type RAS metastatic colorectal cancer; BLINCYTO for the treatment of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia; TEPEZZA to treat thyroid eye disease; and KRYSTEXXA for the treatment of chronic refractory gout.